Movie · 2007 · Family, Drama, Music · 1h 54m · PG · English
Curator score: 2.4/10 (177.7K ratings)
An incredible journey moving at the speed of sound.
Overview
Evan, a musically gifted orphan, runs away from his orphanage and searches New York City for his birth parents. On his journey, he's taken under the wing of the Wizard, a homeless man who lives in an abandoned theater. After discovering his talent, the Wizard gives Evan the name "August Rush" and devises a plan to profit from his talent. Little does Evan know that his parents, Lyla and Louis, are searching for him too.
Ratings
Curator score: 2.4/10
IMDb: 7.4/10
Letterboxd: 3.35/5
Rotten Tomatoes: 36%
Metacritic: 38
TMDB: 7.4/10
Director
Kirsten Sheridan
Production
Warner Bros. Pictures, Odyssey Entertainment, Southpaw Entertainment, CJ Entertainment
Cast
Freddie Highmore, Keri Russell, Jonathan Rhys Meyers, Terrence Howard, Robin Williams, William Sadler, Marian Seldes, Mykelti Williamson, Leon Thomas III, Aaron Staton, Alex O'Loughlin, Jamia Simone Nash, Ronald Guttman, Bonnie McKee, Michael Drayer, Jamie O'Keeffe, Becki Newton, Tyler McGuckin, Megan Gallagher, Anais Martinez
Curator Review
Verdict
A wildly sentimental, music-as-magic fable that can feel corny and implausible, but it also has genuine heart, strong atmosphere, and a sincere belief in artistic destiny. If you’re open to a big, earnest tearjerker, it can be very effective; if you need realism or subtlety, it will likely grate.
Best for
viewers who like unabashedly sentimental dramas
music-driven fairy tales
tearjerkers with a hopeful streak
fans of New York City as a romanticized backdrop
people who enjoy emotional, crowd-pleasing melodrama
Skip if
you dislike heavy-handed sentiment
you want realistic plotting
overly magical or implausible storytelling bothers you
you’re allergic to schmaltz
you prefer restrained performances
Overview
August Rush is a sincere, often shamelessly sentimental musical fable that wants to make you believe talent is destiny and that the universe arranges itself around a song. It’s messy and frequently unrealistic, but it commits hard to its emotional premise, which gives it a strange kind of power when it works.
Worth noting
The film’s biggest strength is its mood: New York feels like a mythic stage, and the story treats music as a force that can connect strangers, family, and fate. That can be moving if you’re in the right headspace, though the same qualities can also make it feel overcooked or naïve.
Bottom line
For some viewers, that excess is the point. It’s the kind of movie that earns affection less through precision than through sincerity, and if you respond to big feelings, buskers, and cinematic coincidence, it can land as a genuinely sweet experience.
Top Letterboxd reviews
Scott Troy (0.5★) · 771 likes
I saw this movie on an airplane. I walked out.
linny (4★) · 422 likes
this was the first movie i ever saw more than once in theaters. it's stupid and overly sentimental and unrealistic and extra and i fucking love it so don't touch me.
Yvette (3★) · 419 likes
This movie ends and nobody tells Jonathan Rhys Meyers he has a child
ejay. (2.5★) · 270 likes
this is kinda true because i too would name my child after folklore and evermore's best songs combined.
Kate (4★) · 172 likes
This might be the most extra and sentimental movie I've ever watched but it knows exactly what it is and fuckin goes for it and I just gotta respect that